Two dogs attacked by coyotes on North Vancouver trail
Posted July 6, 2023 10:22 pm.
Last Updated July 7, 2023 10:00 am.
It was a scary morning for a man on the North Shore Wednesday — when his two dogs were attacked by a group of coyotes.
Elliott Marsh says he had his two dogs off leash near Rice Lake for a routine trek through the area when the dogs went down an embankment and he started hearing strange noises.
“The sounds that occurred afterward were pretty unusual,” he said. “So rather than some barking or some excitement, it almost sounded like there was like a dog brawl ensuing on the other side of the embankment, but to my knowledge, there was nothing down there other than the river and quite a steep kind of bluff down to that point,” he notes.
“This time it was a little bit different than [when they] usually chase a squirrel up a tree and then come right back.”
Marsh says he made his way toward the commotion, and when he looked down the embankment he saw his dogs being attacked by a group of coyotes — five by his count.
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Marsh tells CityNews he saw one of his dogs — Quinn — who’s a 60-pound Aussie Shephard running away from two coyotes. His other dog, Kaia was faring a little worse.
“We were almost met head-on by her making her way through the undergrowth. She was being chased by a group of coyotes that were not so willing to give up their prey … so, I picked up a stick and tried to scare them off.”
Although Marsh says he was eventually able to get Kaia away from the coyotes, he says she was “quite bloody in the head region,” and needed to get stitches on her ear. He notes Kaia still has some deep puncture wounds as well.
It was a scary morning for a man on the North Shore Wednesday — when his two dogs were attacked by a group of coyotes. (Submitted by: Elliott Marsh)
Thankfully both his dogs are now safely recovering after a vet visit, but Marsh explains this isn’t an event he’ll soon forget.
“It’s just traumatic … pets become such a huge part of your life and they become part of your family,” he said.
“To hear your pets in distress, you think the worst immediately.”
The BC Conservation Officer Service tells CityNews they are aware of the incident.
Coyote attacks aren’t out of the ordinary in the Lower Mainland, as two incidents of “aggressive coyote behaviour” took place in early June.
Metro Vancouver’s Jesse Montgomery says he’s been hearing about “increased coyote encounters” this year, and asks anyone who has close encounters with coyotes to report the incident to conservation officers.
“Typically we don’t see the coyote encounters quite as high in these lowly forested areas, often further south and more urban locations,” he said. “We’re asking everybody to be aware out there and sure their pets are on leashes.”
With files from Robyn Crawford
